Babtel is a converged communications service provider focused on the substantially underserved markets in the Middle East and Africa. We commenced Wimax operations in Baghdad in 2004, serving local economy security contractors and government entities. In early 2008 Babtel received US and Iraqi permission to expand its services to Joint Base Balad (JBB), the largest US military airfield in the region; this service commenced operations in July 2008 and expanded to 16 other military installations in Iraq before the US troop withdrawal in September 2011. The Company’s ongoing operations are focused on providing morale Internet services at Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) and Al Udeid Air Base (AUAB) in Qatar.
Predominantly, we offer international voice connectivity through two main types of services: Enterprise Telephony Services to Middle Eastern and multinational companies, governmental entities, and other service providers; and Coinless Phone Booth Services which we sell to laborers living on contractor camps at US military bases in expeditionary markets (“Third Country Nationals” or “TCNs”). Our initial efforts were focused on filling some of the most difficult niches in the soaring market for international communications services from contractors working in Iraq. That led to ongoing work with the Department of State in Iraq and the US Military at enduring bases in Qatar.
Upon our founding in September 2004 we immediately established operations throughout Iraq, commissioning our first customer, Agility Logistics (then known as PWC Logistics, “Agility”) for whom we built out a 40-telephone Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) network connecting their 24 remote offices in Iraq to their headquarters in Kuwait. Since then, we have grown our customer base to a total of 20 enterprises. In June 2005, realizing the rapidly increasing demand for low cost effective telephony for contractors working on military bases, we established our coinless phone booth business to secure an additional source of cash flows. Today we own and operate 1 Gb and 10 Gb backbone fiber networks for 15,000 US soldiers and airmen connecting with their families. Despite the ongoing unrest, we continue to expand our core business.
On February 19, 2014, we signed a five-year contract with the Army & Air Force Exchange Services (“AAFES”) to be the internet service provider to the soldiers and contractors on Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar and that contract was extended to Al Udeid Air Base on October 20, 2014. Our service provides cyber secure VoIP telephony and internet services via Wired and WiFi connections to the more than 15,000 military and civilian personnel at a costs that are comparable to those on the local economy and much enhanced security for the privacy of our soldiers. 10% of the gross proceeds of BABTEL’s operations are returned to the US Military for the Morale and Welfare of our soldiers deployed.
Since 2004, BABTEL has been establishing reliable and secure communications for US Military contractors and soldiers serving overseas. Whether deploying VoIP, Internet, first WiMAX network in Baghdad City, or Microwave Line of Site links in Afghanistan, we have successfully integrated a state-of-art technical solutions, including long range WiFi telephony and data bridges, virtual PBXs and VoIP telephony that connect our customers to the rest of the world through a single gateway at our Philadelphia NOC with the highest quality of service, security and privacy. Although we still use VSATs to access the international telecommunications network in expeditionary markets, our unique commitment to protecting the privacy of our subscribers combined with Babtel’s customer support, provides our customers a full range of easy to use telecommunications without having to invest money costly network infrastructure or the ongoing costs of recruiting, protecting and paying their own in-house technical staff. We are currently working on addressing the integration of rapidly deployable telecommunications systems with solar power and hydroponic farming into a single life support system for the eradication of infectious disease in Africa.